Friday, June 26, 2009

So I'm updating, which means that I now know my official Disney arrival and departure dates!

I am due to arrive on the 23rd of January, 2010ANDwill have officially completed my period of employment at the happiest place on earth, on the 7th of January, 2011.

To (hopefully) make this easier to follow, I'm going to post, step by step, the things that I went through to get to being officially accepted into the program, and then afterwards list how you can go about it if you have decided you want to.

1) Trusty old facebook informed me that my uni was advertising Disney Internships through the form of a friend's status update. She is also a Disney fan and so was as equally as excited as I was (however, sadly, decided against applying for the program this time around).

2) I searched the online noticeboard of my university to find this advertisment and was informed that there would be a presentation in the following weeks. It also directed me to this website:

www.stbaustralia.com.au

I went to this website and sent in the required information.PLEASE NOTE: This turned out to be a waste of time, as I had to resubmit everything anyway (but will NOT be a waste of time if the recruiters are NOT coming to your uni).

3) I got up bright and early on presentation day and dressed in smart, job interview style clothes. I took a copy of my resume with me as well as photo ID.

4) Sat through the presentation. It was really fun and interesting. They also asked Disney related questions and handed out prizes for correct answers. The videos we watched showed the parks in general, housing, and also a brief overview of the kinds of jobs that you can have if you are accepted.

To watch the same presentation, go here: disneyinternationalepresentation.com/j1a

5) Straight after the presentation they were beginning interviews, so I signed up for an interview later that afternoon and recieved some forms that needed to be filled out.

6) I got to the interview location about 10 minutes early, they checked my forms, photocopied my photo ID, then I waited.

7) The interview took place with 2 other people, and the recruiter took it in turn to ask us questions. The questions were generally something you would find in most job interviews, although there were question relating to how you think you would cope living away from home, and in a group apartment. The best question was 'What's your favourite Disney movie?'

Of course I answered: Beauty and the Beast. (The very first thing I plan to buy at Disney is a Beast toy).

8) I wait....

7) as above

8) as above

9) as above

10) Exactly three weeks later I get an email saying that I am accepted! Yipppeeee! Celebrate good times! This email needs me to fill out several forms. These include an acceptance form, a proof of student status form, a police check form and provide a copy of my passport. I do all this.

11) I recieve an email saying my spot is officially confirmed!

12) A couple of weeks later I learn my official Disney dates.

And that brings us to the present.

It's probaby important to note that I was lucky to attend a university in which the Disney recruiters actually came. If they don't come to your uni you can still apply, and the process will be similar, however your interview will be over the phone.

There are still heaps of things I need to do, but can't do too much yet. The main thing is getting my visa, but I have been informed that I will not have my interview for that until at least August. They do not want you to purchase airline tickets until you have had your visa approved as this can really hinder the process and may result in them not giving one to you.

The visa that you get allowed 30 days of travel at the end of the program, so I am excitedly planning different trips I will do afterwards.

That's all for now. I don't think I will have much more to write about for the next few months, at least until my visa interview, but I have ordered a book from Amazon called Mousecatraz, which is about the college program, so I will do a review of it once it arrives and I have finished it.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

And in 6 months time, this will be my new home. Far, far away from Australia where I have lived for my entire life.

On the 22nd of May, 2009, I got accepted into the Walt Disney World International College Program (which will, from here on in, be referred to as WDWICP).

Since that date I have been trawling the internet searching for all the information I can about the program, specifically, blogs and vlogs of people who are there, or have been there recently, who can answer my questions and tell me what it's all about.

My searches have proved (mainly) fruitless. There are a lot of blogs out there on the program, but a lot of them don't provide much information, are really old, or are not regularly updated. Many of the vlogs are really, really boring (no offense guys), and there are hardly any that are made by international college programmers.

On that note, I decided to create my own blog, ranging from acceptance to my homecoming, that includes photos, stories and resources, and gives readers a chance to ask questions. In short, I want to make this the resource that I could not find, as well as being an outlet to keep up with my friends and family and brag about the awesome time that I'm going to be having!

Due to the fact that I have not actually left yet (I leave in Jan, 2010), posts may be few and far between until I actually arrive in sunny Florida, however I will do some posts on the application process and what to expect once you have been accepted.

While I wait anxiously for more information and my specific arrival date, I have been killing time by watching these two users on youtube:

JohnWDWCP - An amazingly funny vlogger who has just, I believe, ended his college program experience. He's an American so some of the information in his initial vlogs don't exactly apply to me or other internationals, but most of the stuff he talks about is the same stuff we will be experiencing. His vlog is really addictive, I watched all of them in 2 nights (and did no homework in the process), so make sure you have a lot of time when you sit down and watch.

AND

kevkc - This blog is great for other internationals, because Kevin is from Ireland and so goes through a similar process that we do when it comes to applying and getting ready to depart. He is also very funny and has some great tips (I especially recommend watching his video 'Kevin's Top Seven').

If you are going (or even just considering applying) I highly recommenced you watch some, if not all, the vlogs by these guys, I started watching them while i was just considering applying, and they definitely gave me a lot of the information I needed to make my final decision.

Next blog I will write about the steps I had to take for the application process, provide the link for all other Aussies and New Zealanders who want to apply, and answer any questions if I happen to already have some, which I doubt.

About Me

Jackie is a 25 year old wannabe entrepreneur, wedding planner, health and fitness advocate and founder of Dash Event Management. Her best friend is her adopted greyhound named Dexter and she eats Vegemite straight out of the jar.